Robert McNamara, the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, says in the fascinating documentary The Fog of War:“Don’t answer the question they asked. Answer the question you wish they’d asked.”

Some form of that media philosophy applies not just to politics these days but pretty much everything — certainly pro sports.

Saturday’s post-game press conference with Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson was always going to be an interesting one because it was the first bit of non-Camilo adversity for the new head coach.

It followed a 2-1 home loss to the Colorado Rapids, a game the Caps led 1-0 and should have led 2-0, until Caps’ midfielder Matías Laba picked up a second yellow card and Rapids midfielder José Mari stunned the hosts and their fans.

There were a few ways Robinson could have handled this presser. He chose, essentially, to play the blame-the-ref card, as did captain Jay DeMerit.

“It’s obviously a foul (committed against Laba),” said Robinson, “and (the referee) sent him off for a decision I think he got wrong, in my opinion, and obviously it cost us the game.”

Robinson also repeated the following line to the assembled media, and later on radio:

“It’s a pity we’re not talking about the game, because it was a good game today. It really was.”

Wait, who wasn’t talking about the game?

Of course, Robinson was going to get asked about the red card regardless. He didn’t have to raise the topic. It was, undeniably, a talking point and a turning point.

But so was Laba’s decision to handle the ball, falsely assuming a foul call was coming his way. And so was how the Caps reacted after the sending off (slowly), and how they reacted after the first goal against (snail-like).

These were all topics Robinson seemed more than pleased to see relegated to an afterthought following such an unjust punishment, and fair play to him. Smart managing you might say (although we did learn last season that this is an organization that seems to dislike public excuses).

Now, I happen to think that Laba was fouled and should have seen the call go his way. I also happen to think Laba did, in fact, act instinctively to grab the ball, believing he’d been fouled, as opposed to him trying to coax the referee into a decision. I also happen to think the referee, Ioannis Stavridis, probably forgot he’d previously booked Laba, or he wouldn’t have sent him off for that. It was Stavridis’s second MLS game.

So, Robinson and the Caps players are certainly entitled to voice their displeasure. It’s actually refreshing to hear coaches and players in this league say what they think, despite the inevitable slap on the wrist that’s sure to come their way. And I’m sure Robinson and his players genuinely believed they’d been screwed.

Still, there’s always the high road. Bad calls happen. They’ll happen again. And where does all that “It’s how you react to adversity?” talk suddenly vanish to after featuring so prominently in pre-season?

If there’s a strong case for distraction PR tactics, there’s also a good argument to be made for simply putting your hand up for what you’re responsible for, which in this case was reorganizing quickly when down to 10 men.

Fans are going to complain about the referee regardless. (And weren’t we just told in the Chivas game how hard it is to play against 10?)

I guess another way to look at this is that by calling out the referee Robinson was just protecting his players — Laba for starters, and the rest of the guys who couldn’t stop the bleeding.

Protecting the coaches, too, perhaps, if you want to argue tactical naiveté, although Robinson had made the kind of attacking subs most fans seem to want to see, even up a goal, so it was more bad timing that Gershon Koffie had already left the field when their other defensive midfielder, Laba, saw red.

The second Mari goal came so quickly after the first there was hardly time to consider a defensive sub to try and lock down a 1-1 tie.

Stick with sub strategy

It would be a shame to see the Colorado loss affect Robinson’s early-season substitution philosophy, and there’s really no reason to believe the dropped points will make him more conservative over night.

The plan has been pretty clear at home (refreshing, too): When behind, bring on an attacking player; when tied, bring on an attacking player; and, when ahead, bring on an attacking player, then another.

Judging by the reaction to the switches, especially when Kekuta Manneh comes on, it’s the kind of bravado most fans want to see.

Maybe the Caps see that Colorado game out if Kenny Miller stays on the field and Manneh stays on the bench. Or, if Robinson had brought on Johnny Leveron as an additional defensive midfielder to replace Miller, or even the defensively-responsible Nico Mezquida had replaced Miller at forward, rather than Manneh (who was among those who could have made life more difficult for Mari on the winner).

Who knows.

But the Caps lineup, with speed to burn, lends itself to this offence-is-the-best-defence approach, and it’s a strategy that should — over the long haul — earn them far more points than it costs them. It will likely earn them a few lopsided wins at B.C. Place, too, which is always good for selling the game.

West still the Best

Five games into the MLS season and, as expected, it again appears as if the Western Conference will be the tougher one by a fair margin. That isn’t to say a Western team will necessarily win MLS Cup. Reigning champs Kansas City are relatively unchanged and will contend again for sure. Columbus looks decent in the East, also, and Toronto is vastly improved.

Still, the top-to-bottom challenge in the West looks far more formidable.

L.A. and Salt Lake — whom the Caps play their next three games against — are perennial MLS Cup contenders and already producing some excellent moments (watch L.A.’s goal against Chivas last weekend, then think about the Caps going to L.A. without Laba).

Granted, Dallas started like a house on fire last season also, but they look like the real deal under Oscar Pareja, with a good mix of youth and experience, Argentine Mauro Diaz pulling the strings, and Fabian Castillo causing all sorts of problems with his pace.

Colorado’s young and dangerous, too, as Caps fans found out Saturday. And it’s just a matter of time before Portland and Seattle start heating up. Their wild 4-4 tie on the weekend featured a Clint Dempsey hat trick, and Waking the Deuce probably isn’t the best omen for the rest of the conference.

Even Chivas isn’t a walk-over, as the Caps already found out.

For the Caps, it’s going to be another dogfight for a playoff spot, and they know they’ll have to be better against their own conference. They went 6-10-8 against the West last year, and that was a huge part of their demise (plus that Davidson heat butt against Philly!).

It hardly needs mentioning that the Caps’ conference games thus far in 2014 are as follows: tied at 10-man Chivas; lost at home to Colorado.

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